Got through work early today

So when I got home I put the limb material in the heat box for an hour to totally dry them out.

While they where in the box I prepared the form, by giving it a good coat of paste wax and covering with plastic wrap.



Then took the material out of the box and placed them on the bench in order they will be used in the lay up.



Putting on rubber gloves to stop the transfeer of bugs to our patient.:d



It's time to mix the epoxy.
I use Areomarine 400 it has a stronger bonding strenght than Smooth On and 1/2 the cost, but it is runny so I have to add about a teaspoon on Cabosil to thicken it up.



The Cabosil does turn the epoxy white but it will dry clear.



So once we have the epoxy thoughly mixed it's time for the screw up opps I mean glue up

Applying epoxy to all joining surfaces.



then flip them onto one another making sure it's epoxy to epoxy.



Now add the bamboo and wedge.



Next comes the Readheart notice I did not apply any epoxy, simple reason for this is if I did then ya'll would get an idea of what it's gonna look like under the glass but ya gonna have to wait.



Now add the final clear glass.



Transfeer the stack to the form add the pressure strip and secure with filement tape.



Then add another layer of plastic wrap, the air hose and the top of the form and secure the bolts.





I use a hand pump for the pressure and add pressure in 3 stages first to 20 psi wait a few minutes then to 40 psi wait a few mins then finally to 60 psi.
The reason I do this is to allow any trapped air bubbles to escape. I also check to make sure nothing has moved at each stage.

Once I have the 60 psi I again double check and make sure nothing has moved.

I then scrap the excess epoxy down away from the laminations, while doing this I check again to make sure nothing has moved it also makes it easier to break off the excess once the limb come out of the heat box.



Once I am sure nothing has moved I place the form in the heat box and take note of the time as it will be in there for the next 4 hours, once the 4 hours are up I turn the heat box off, leave the form in the box for a slow cool down.

Now all thats left is the clean up as you can see I as per usual mixed up more than needed but I would rather have too much than not enough.



Now for a little break and a cold drink and it's back out there to grind the other lams to thickness.